LIFEFILMLOVE

Notes on film by Andy Mattioli

  • The Immersive Experience of All the President’s Men

    The Immersive Experience of All the President’s Men

    The representation of journalism has always been a vital part of Hollywood since the early days of slapstick and screwball comedies in the 1930s. The display of journalism as a profession often depended on the stakes involved in a specific sociopolitical context. While in the 1930s and 40s, newsrooms were presented for laughs and satire,…

    Andy Mattioli

    May 7, 2023
    Drama, Hollywood
    1976, Drama, Dustin Hoffman, Film, Journalism, Robert Redford, Thriller
  • The Grapes of Wrath: How John Ford captured Steinbeck’s words

    The Grapes of Wrath: How John Ford  captured Steinbeck’s words

    Mostly known for his westerns set in the vivid and majestic Monument Valley, John Ford has always been considered one of the most important filmmakers of all time, detailing the lives of those that rarely had their stories put on the silver screen. His were the stories of human perseverance against all odds, man’s quest…

    Andy Mattioli

    April 8, 2023
    Director, Drama
    1940, Drama, Film, Henry Fonda, John Ford, John Steinbeck
  • The alliance of man and nature in Kurosawa’s Dersu Uzala

    The alliance of man and nature in Kurosawa’s Dersu Uzala

    Despite arguably being Japan’s most famous and commercially successful filmmaker of his time, Akira Kurosawa found himself at the mercy of producers and investors who – by the time the 1970s came around – hesitated in funding any more of his projects. Kurosawa’s career seemed to be over by that point following a series of…

    Andy Mattioli

    March 5, 2023
    Drama, Epic, Film
    1975, Drama, Film, Kurosawa
  • Minority Report: Spielberg and the freedom of choice

    Minority Report: Spielberg and the freedom of choice

    The first time I saw Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report I was in my teens and part of an English class taught by Mr. King. Mr. King was arguably my first mentor, a teacher who taught for pleasure and who drew satisfaction from seeing his students evolve as people, not just students. He would often push…

    Andy Mattioli

    February 5, 2023
    Crime, Drama
    2002, Crime, Drama, Film, Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise
  • Why you should revisit Lost in Translation

    Why you should revisit Lost in Translation

    More and more often I find myself coming back to Lost in Translation. When asked by friends or relatives, what I consider to be my favorite film, I feel as if I am impulsively compelled to mention Sofia Coppola’s Oscar-winning film of 2003. Yet, whenever I have to explain why that is, I am at…

    Andy Mattioli

    January 22, 2023
    Drama, Film
    2003, Bill Murray, Film, Lost in Translation, Scarlett Johansson, Sofia Coppola
  • Eat Drink Man Woman: Ang Lee’s hidden gem

    Eat Drink Man Woman: Ang Lee’s hidden gem

    Few filmmakers have shown the range Ang Lee has over the span of the last thirty years. Think about it, the same man who is responsible for Hulk gave us Sense and Sensibility, The Ice Storm, Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, among many others. In fact, the Taiwanese director rose…

    Andy Mattioli

    December 17, 2022
    Comedy, Drama, Family
    1994, Ang Lee, Asian Cinema, Drama, Family, Film, Taiwan
  • Birdman: How Iñárritu adapted Raymond Carver’s prose

    Birdman: How Iñárritu adapted Raymond Carver’s prose

    Upon its release in 2014, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman (Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) was met simultaneously with critical acclaim and popular confusion. Audiences seemed to feel belittled and made fun of by a movie that focused on what one of the characters refers to as the “cultural genocide” of filmmaking – caped superheroes…

    Andy Mattioli

    November 5, 2022
    Arthouse, Comedy, Drama
    2014, Drama, Film, Iñárritu, Michael Keaton, Raymond Carver
  • The forgotten brilliance of Harvey Keitel

    The forgotten brilliance of Harvey Keitel

    You’d be hard pressed to find a more expressive face than Harvey Keitel’s. The kind of face the likes of Humphrey Bogart and Spencer Tracy had and to which they owed a huge chunk of their success. The kind of face that – had Keitel been born thirty years earlier – would have made him…

    Andy Mattioli

    October 16, 2022
    Actor, Comedy, Drama
    1990s, Actor, Film, Harvey Keitel, Movies
  • Duck, You Sucker! Sergio Leone’s belief in friendship

    Duck, You Sucker! Sergio Leone’s belief in friendship

    Few directors are as consistent and determined in sticking to the theme of friendship throughout their filmography as Sergio Leone was. The Italian filmmaker behind such classics like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Once Upon a Time in America was always – no matter what – a great believer in the power…

    Andy Mattioli

    September 3, 2022
    Director, Drama, War, Western
    1971, Film, James Coburn, Rod Steiger, Sergio Leone, Western
  • The real-life tragedy of John Huston’s Misfits

    The real-life tragedy of John Huston’s Misfits

    Few movies can reflect and predict – without knowing, of course – the real-life tragedy of the people involved in their making as accurately as John Huston’s off-beat and fatalistic film from 1961, The Misfits, starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Thelma Ritter and Eli Wallach. Huston’s film is drenched in the tragic fate…

    Andy Mattioli

    August 5, 2022
    Actor, Arthouse, Drama, Western
    1960s, Clark Gable, Drama, Film, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Western
1 2 3 … 13
Next Page→

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • LIFEFILMLOVE
    • Join 44 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • LIFEFILMLOVE
    • Edit Site
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar